Editor's note: This is Insider's weekly series that identifies and analyzes tendencies or trends exhibited by five players.

Some of the top names around the NBA are doing things on the court this season we haven't seen them do before, for better and for worse.

It might seem easy to see the shooting improvements Jimmer Fredette has made from his rookie season to this year, for example, or impressive amount of assists Greivis Vasquez is racking up in New Orleans with guys like Ryan Anderson and Anthony Davis around him. But other trends aren't so easy to spot, and that's why we're here -- to unearth them, to bring them to your attention and to speculate on what it could mean going forward.

In the final Trend Watch of 2012, we delve deeper into the development of one of the game's top players, look closer at two point guards going in different directions and highlight a pair of big men who are putting up some of the best numbers of their career.